


Cookies and Cream

by fatterthanbefore



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, André Glacier's Ice Cream, Belly Rubs, Chubby Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Chubby Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Clothes Shopping, Cravings, Discussion of Dieting, Discussion of Obesity and Health, F/M, Failed Diet, Feeding Kink, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, I promise eventually there will be an identity reveal tag but it's gonna be a while, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Light teasing though, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Side Effects, Mutual Gaining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parental Conversations, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Schemes to get Adrien and Marinette together, Stuffing, Teasing, Weight Gain, tight clothes, writer chooses to use Cat Noir instead of Chat Noir and is sorry about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatterthanbefore/pseuds/fatterthanbefore
Summary: After 4 years of using the Miraculous, Tikki and Plagg explain to their holders that there are going to start to be more side effects now that the heroes are soon to turn 18. Feeding their kwamis to recharge isn't going to be necessary anymore, but instead they will be facing cravings that will change them more than they could have ever expected.Will Marinette and Adrien be able to maintain the fight against Hawkmoth under these unexpected conditions? How will those around them respond to changes they can't easily explain? And what will they do when they discover that instead of fighting the new lifestyle thrust upon them, they find they want to give in to indulgence?Marinette had always known that keeping cookies in her purse at all times was going to have consequences.NOTE: This is a work of fetish/kink fiction. Particularly weight gain fetish. If that isn't your cup of tea, please simply move along.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	1. Cravings

**Author's Note:**

> A couple notes upfront: This work is marked Mature (for now, I reserve the right to upgrade to Explicit down the line) due to the inherent kink nature of this fic, as well as some lewd focusing on bodies of characters that are canonically underage, though are clearly aged up in the work. This work will likely not contain anything overtly sexual in nature beyond those parameters for a long time, and more tags will be added if and when that happens. That said, the *tone* is meant to be horny, so take that as you will. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
> 
> With that out of the way, this has been stewing in the back of my mind for what feels like a year and a half now. I love the world and characters of Miraculous Ladybug so much, and they have lived in my head rent free ever since I started the show. It's no wonder that they would get all jumbled up with the horny side of my brain, where all of the feedees and gainers live. I just feel like Miraculous Ladybug is chock full of opportunities for interesting weight gain fiction situations, and they kept popping up in my head until I just had to get it down on digital paper. I hope I'm not overpromising by saying I have a long list of ideas. But I have to get it out of my brain somehow, and hopefully someone else can enjoy it along the way!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki and Plagg explain the new cravings their holders are experiencing. Then, Ladybug and Cat Noir meet up for patrol and discuss these developments.

Marinette had always known that keeping cookies in her purse at all times was going to have some dangerous consequences.

There were the obvious ones, like all of the questions she got. Alya had, on more than one occasion, given her an odd look because she was shoving loose macarons into her clutch.

There were the non-obvious ones, like when she had to brush crumbs out of her make-up bag. 

And then there was the most subtle consequence of all, which was unfortunately becoming less subtle by the day.

"Tikki… do you think I've gained weight?"

Marinette examined herself in her full length mirror. She lifted up the hem of her shirt just slightly, enough so that she could use her other hand to pinch the small layer of fat on her stomach.

Tikki flew up to Marinette's shoulder and joined her in observing the mirror. "Well… it certainly seems like it!" She zipped down to Marinette's waist and grasped her own tiny armfull of fat.

Marinette pouted, and, shooing Tikki aside, she began a full investigation. The new fat along her tummy wasn’t too noticeable, really, only a small layer of softness that barely changed her shape. Moving her hands upward, she cupped her breasts. They didn’t feel any bigger, but her bra strap was feeling a bit more snug than usual. Spinning around so her back faced the mirror, she took a more thorough inventory of her legs. Her butt did seem a bit rounder, and her legs definitely had a more defined curve to them. So it wasn’t all bad news. But still, that layer of fat that was becoming a small belly bump gave her pause.

She shoved her shirt back down, and began marching toward the stairs.

As she descended, Tikki flew after her. “What are you doing Marinette?”

“Something I’ve been avoiding.” She opened the door to the bathroom, and immediately reached for the bathroom scale. After positioning it properly, she took a deep breath and stepped on.

Before she could see the digital reading, she placed her hands over her eyes and shut them tight. “Tikki, what does it say?” Marinette said, a slight tremor in her voice.

Tikki glanced down, and guilelessly read, “136 pounds.” 

“Eep!” Marinette’s eyes flew open, and checked the reading herself. “That has to be wrong!”

But as she reset the scale and then stepped on it again, the reading came back the exact same. Marinette Dupain-Cheng weighed 136 pounds.

“How can I weigh 136 pounds! That means I’ve gained almost 30 pounds since I last checked, and that was for the school physical!”

At this outburst, Marinette shifted into panic mode. She quickly stuffed the scale back where she found it, and hoping her parents hadn’t heard anything, quickly made her way back up the stairs.

Marinette grimaced at her kwami, and whispered, "This is partially your fault! Because I'm always carrying around cookies for you to recharge, it means I always have cookies on hand! It's really bad for my impulse control."

“Well… it’s not the only thing…” Tikki floated ahead while avoiding Marinette’s gaze. She phased through the trap door, which Marinette opened after her.

"Tikki… what does that mean?" Marinette cocked her head to the side, and gave her kwami a look she hoped conveyed her deepening suspicion.

As Marinette closed the hatch behind her, Tikki floated away from her. "Well. There's been something that I've been meaning to talk to you about. I was hoping it wouldn't manifest, or at least not be too strong, but considering how good of a Ladybug you are…"

“Tikki…”

“But you are turning 18 this year, and it’s been almost 4 years since you became Ladybug…” Tikki continued to float back into the middle of the room, as she rambled, still looking away. “So it’s not that much of a surprise, and our bond is so strong…”

“TIKKI! What is going on?” Marinette said forcefully, getting the kwami’s attention.

“Uhm. You might want to sit down for this.” Tikki floated over to Marinette’s chaise, and took a seat on the seat back.

Marinette took a deep breath, and sat down, bringing her legs up to her chest. She gave Tikki her full attention.

“There are many reasons that Master Fu chose to give the Miraculous to you and Cat Noir while you were so young. Growing up with a Miraculous makes your body more used to the magic in a way that an adult can never replicate. This can make you more powerful with time."

Marinette raised her hand, to which Tikki nodded. "Is that why I had an easier time wielding multiple miraculouses as Multimouse?"

"That might be part of it, yes. Though that's also partly because you are very adept yourself, Marinette." Tikki gave her a big smile, which she returned. "It is also partly due to tradition. When the guardians kept the miraculous, their initiates were always young children. It made them easier to teach, and it meant they had more time to learn everything that was necessary before they came fully into their own.

"But there are also downsides."

"Like how Cat Noir and I can't hold our transformations after we use our special power, but Hawkmoth and Mayura can," Marinette grumbled.

"Exactly. And while using the Miraculous from a young age can make you more powerful, it can also lead to powerful… side effects." Tikki paused.

"Side effects? Like how Cat Noir purrs sometimes?"

"Yes! And other subtle things. But now that you're becoming more mature, I'm afraid one of the other side effects is starting to kick in."

Marinette gulped, not liking where this was going.

"As you get closer to maturity, our bond becomes even stronger. And you can start to take on more of my traits. In particular, many holders of the Ladybug miraculous manifest certain… cravings."

Tikki paused again, a grimace on her otherwise adorable face.

"What kind of… cravings?" Worry filled Marinette's face, even as her arm, seemingly unconsciously, moved behind her, grabbing at the plate on the table.

Just as Marinette took a bite of the cookie that was now in her hand, Tikki continued, "Sugar. Sweets. Cookies. The kind of things I use to recharge."

At this, Marinette froze, and stared directly at the cookie in her hand. She chewed slowly, then stopped. She swallowed, audibly.

"Oh."

"And I wasn't sure if that's what was happening, but it is a possible explanation for…"

And as Tikki trailed off, Marinette once again lifted the hem of her shirt, and prodded her paunch, now more noticeable while she was seated. It was decidedly soft to the touch.

"Is Cat Noir going through the same thing?" Even with the look of concern on her face, Marinette proceeded to put two more cookies into her mouth before Tikki could respond.

"Normally I wouldn't be sure. But he and Plagg are just as close as you and I. He will probably be developing similar side effects soon, if he isn't already."

“I hope he isn’t having too hard a time with this…”

~~~

"...and that's why you've been a lot more lactose tolerant recently! You've inherited my impeccable taste in cheese!"

Plagg finished with a small twirl in the air, launching a piece of camembert above him, where it hung for a moment, before plummeting back down into his waiting mouth.

Adrien sat, mouth slightly agape. With effort, he closed his mouth and shook his head. Then he stood up, and began slowly pacing around his couch. "I guess, as ridiculous as that sounds, it does make sense?"

"Of course it does! I'm a god, I know these things!" Plagg settled on the back of the couch, his eyes following his holder's path around the room, until Adrien, almost absentmindedly veered off course, heading towards the newest addition to his bedroom, the mini fridge that had replaced his nightstand.

Adrien sat on his bed and opened the mini fridge, even as he continued to mumble. "Now that I really think about it, it's pretty much undeniable. I still hate the smell of your camembert, but every other kind of dairy…" His thought was interrupted by the quick but forceful slurp he took of the milkshake he had produced from the fridge. "...is basically irresistible." Another slurp, longer this time, and punctuated by a satisfied "Ahhh!" The fridge door opened again, and this time a plate was produced, a large slice of cold pizza atop it. Adrien took a large bite before continuing.

"So if the black cat Miraculous causes cravings for dairy, what do the other miraculous do?"

Plagg floated over and snatched a handful of cheese that was drooping off the pizza slice before Adrien moved to finish it off. "Well, something similar in each case, though I personally think you have it the best. Ladybug will be getting Tikki's sweet tooth, so anything sugary sweet. For Trixx, it's meat. For Pollen, it's honey, of course. Wayzz has a thing for leafy greens, though most leaves will do-"

The straw for the milkshake popped out of Adrien's mouth as he said "Oh! That's why Master Fu liked tea so much!"

Plagg snickered. "Yeah, that's part of it. Duusu has one of the widest variety of tastes out of all of us, but her holder usually has a thing for berries and other fruit."

The mention of the missing kwami sobered Adrien, and he put his milkshake down and stared intently at Plagg. "What about Hawkmoth?"

"The butterfly miraculous? Nectar."

Adrien put his hand to his chin. "I wonder if we can somehow use that. It can't be that easy to get flower nectar, right?"

At that, Plagg perked up, before returning to munching on his cheese. "Well, maybe. But the butterfly miraculous cravings are also usually the lightest. Don't need a lot to keep the wielder sated. Unlike, uh..." Plagg drifted off as Adrien crammed the crust of the pizza slice into his mouth, took the lid off his milkshake, and downed the remainder.

Adrien looked back at Plagg at first with confusion. Then, there was a rumbling, and then…

"BUUUURP!"

Adrien's look turned to sheepishness as the reverberations of his belch subsided. He rubbed his slightly distended stomach, and deftly maneuvered his belt to the next loop with a sigh of relief.

"Let me guess, the black cat and ladybug miraculous, being the most powerful, also come with the most powerful cravings."

"Now you're getting it kid! Though to be honest, you're taking this a lot better than I would have expected."

At that, Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "Well, it is nice to indulge a little bit. It all tastes so good! And now that school is out, it's actually lining up with my off season. No photoshoots for a couple weeks, and no fencing practice or meets until school starts back up.”

“Finally!” Plagg exclaimed, “Three months for us to just sit back and relax. No more going out and doing ridiculous things like ‘work’ or expending ‘effort’.” Adrien chuckled at Plagg’s wild gestures, and absentmindedly rubbed his stuffed stomach. “Finally we get a vacation!”

It was at those words that Adrien’s phone gave a subtle ding, prompting him to pull it out and check the time.

“Well, not a full time vacation. We still have that other work to do!” Adrien grinned at Plagg, who gave him a grimace. “And hey, Ladybug and I should probably talk about this stuff. Especially if we can use it to track Hawkmoth.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess we can go on patrol… But I want a full wheel of camembert when we get back to celebrate our vacation!”

“Deal! Plagg, Claws Out!”

~~~

When Ladybug landed on the upper levels of the Eiffel Tower, Cat Noir was already there, twirling his baton. The direction of her approach meant the setting sun was in her eyes, but even that couldn’t hide the sound of the “hiyah!” he made a flourish.

Then Cat Noir turned, the light of the sun shined off his magical leather suit, and Ladybug found herself once again marvelling at just how skintight their superhero suits really were.

It had been almost two weeks since they had seen each other, due to the solo patrols they had been doing to make the last weeks of the school year easier. Perhaps, Ladybug thought, it was those weeks apart that now made it more obvious that his body had started to change. He was certainly wider. But it was the way his suit now seemed to hug his thighs and stomach that really drew her eye. Eyeing his now visible paunch, she turned her look downwards, and suddenly felt a bit subconscious about her own little belly that her magic spandex did nothing to hide. She shifted, trying to put her arms in front of her.

Ladybug cleared her throat. “So, not to be too blunt about it, but you’ve also heard about the cravings we’re supposed to be experiencing?”

Cat Noir looked her up and down, though not in a leering way, thankfully. And then, bless his heart, he gave her his most winning smile. “Yup! Plagg explained it to me just this evening while I was having a milkshake with some triple cheese pizza.”

“Eugh,” Ladybug gagged, sticking out her tongue. “Does that taste good to you?”

“Heavenly, unfortunately. I barely noticed I was putting it away until I was finished. Thankfully, because Plagg was already such a cheese aficionado, I’m not having any trouble getting more dairy into my own diet. No one questions it when I already have several wheels of camembert a day.”

“Ugh, relatable. I put away a whole plate of cookies while Tikki was going over it, and even though I kept putting them down, I kept finding them back in my mouth. It’s almost too bad that it’s pretty easy to get sweets for Tikki, since it means it’s easy to get sweets for me.” Ladybug scowled and then tapped her foot, hesitating. “I’ve gained some weight without noticing.”

“Oh, me too. I’m up to like 162 pounds last I checked.”

The brazen way he said it took her by surprise. Not that she thought he was vain, she just hadn’t expected such a laissez faire attitude about it from him. Then he patted his stomach, and gave his belly a small jiggle, as if to emphasize his point. Ladybug blushed, and looked away. “Is that, uh… is that a lot for you?”

“Oh, uh,” Cat Noir looked confused for a moment, then blushed right back at her. “I guess it’s not that much in the grand scheme of things. I’m up like, 35 pounds from last fall? I assume some of it is just because I’m getting taller.”

“Oh, I guess that’s fair.” She scrunched up her face, thinking about if she had gotten any taller and if that had contributed to her own weight gain. “Still, I’m a little worried. Tikki didn’t talk about any way to make this easier. Either curbing the cravings or…” She placed her hand on her stomach. “...or not letting it affect us physically.”

“Not to worry my lady! I’m sure we can work it off. We’re superheroes after all. We already jump and leap around Paris on a nearly daily basis. We can use patrol time as exercise!”

At this, Ladybug did brighten considerably, and placed her fist in her open palm. “That’s right! With how much energy we expend on patrol and while saving the city, we’ll be able to work off any weight we gain no problem!”

The two superheroes grinned at each other, pleased at their solution.

And so began the most energetic patrol they had ever done. They ran as fast as their magically enhanced legs could go, doing extra jumps and flips, racing across Paris until even the suits couldn’t keep them from breathing hard. Even then, they began a game of tag, chasing each other until the sun was fully set. 

~~~

It was an hour and a half later that they stopped, just as the lights of the city were beginning to turn on. They walked atop the Seine on a small bridge that neither of them were particularly familiar with, but there was a notable landmark upon it nonetheless: the ice cream stand of one André.

Just the sight of it brought a rumbling to Cat Noir’s stomach and he noticed what he thought was a bit of drool coming from Ladybug’s mouth.

“Cream…” Cat Noir murmured, just as Ladybug whispered, “Sugar…”

Rubbing his protesting abdomen, Cat Noir said, “We did just work out quite a bit…”

Ladybug gulped audibly, and wiped her mouth with her arm, responding, “It makes sense that we would be hungry.”

“And we deserve something to cool us down. It’s so hot out!.” It was barely above 70 F.

“So hot. And just because we have these cravings doesn’t mean we can ignore them.”

“You’re right as usual My Lady.”

“Post workout snack?”

“Post workout snack!”

And with that, they approached the cart, greeted by André’s winning smile and two hands outstretched, a large four scoop cone in each hand. “If it isn’t Paris’ heroes themselves! Thankfully for you two, I’m having a two for one sale today, and the first one is on the house!”

“That’s very generous of you André, thank you. What flavours have you mixed up for us?” Ladybug took both cones, and handed one to Cat Noir. The normally colorful assortments were instead replaced by a uniform white ice cream with flecks of black.

“No mixing today! Today, I have a taste for one unified flavour! And I think you will too.” There was a gleam in his eye, as he leaned forward and mock whispered to the superheroes. “The flavour of the day is cookies and cream.”

At that, Cat Noir laughed, “Oh, perfect! I love it.” Ladybug elbowed him, and he had to fumble to make sure he didn’t drop his cone. “I mean, uh, that’s just what I have a hankering for. Thank you André!”

“Yes, thank you. Until next time!” And with a wave, Ladybug ushered Cat Noir over to a bench where they could sit relatively alone.

Sitting down, Ladybug turned to him. “We shouldn’t let people know we’re having cravings! It’s possible that Hawkmoth doesn’t know it’s happening to us, and any piece of information we can hide from him is information he can’t use against us.” With a light frown, Ladybug began digging into her ice cream. As soon as the first bite touched her lips, she let out a light squeal, and exclaimed “Oh, this is so good! Exactly what I needed.”

“I… know… what you… mean…” Cat Noir responded around his ice cream, one whole scoop already gone. With a loud swallow, he continued, “And you’re right. I’m sorry I almost let that slip.” With a thoughtful tilt of his head, he said, “that reminds me. Plagg mentioned that other longtime Miraculous wielders can get similar side effects. Supposedly the wielder of the Peacock Miraculous craves berries and Hawkmoth should be craving nectar, like from flowers. I don’t know if that’s something we can use to find him, but I thought I would bring it up.”

Ladybug nodded at him. “Yeah, Tikki mentioned that as well. I don’t know if it’s useful or not, but it’s something to keep in mind. If we ever get the ability to track shipments of flower nectar, maybe.” She shrugged, and the heroes continued to devour their ice cream.

Cat Noir proceeded to watch Ladybug realize when she reached the last scoop left on her cone that even at her quick eating speed, there were dribbles of ice cream running down her cone. With a quick lick and slurp she attempted to clean up her mess, but some of the ice cream still landed on her gloved hand. After nearly shoving the rest of the cone down her gullet, she burped lightly before going to town on the small trails of ice cream that had made it onto her hand.

It was only when she had licked herself totally clean and pouted that all of her ice cream was gone that she looked back up at her partner, who was snickering at her behind his own ice cream stained hand, amused.

“I- I was hungry!” She blushed a bit, and deepened her pout.

“No, no My Lady! It’s fine! I’m just glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.” With a playful narrowing of his eyes, he extended his hand out to her. “Did you enjoy it enough to lick the ice cream off of my hand though?”

But to Cat Noir’s surprise, Ladybug’s eyes simply focused in on the outstretched hand. And instead of the look of exaggerated disgust he expected on her face, he found her licking her lips. With a darting movement, Ladybug did move forward, slurping at his open palm before even a drip of melted cream could attempt to hit the ground.

Cat Noir found himself simply gaping as Ladybug licked his gloved hand clean before moving back again, wiping her mouth and covering another light urp.

After a beat, Ladybug’s eyes widened with realization. “UH!” She clamped her hands much more firmly over her mouth. “SORRY! I don’t know what came over me! You just offered, and I did want more ice cream, and I just didn’t think! Sorry sorry sorry!” She paused for a breath, and gave him a horrified look.

“It’s uhm.” Cat Noir had to swallow the couple of dirty puns that came into his mind at that moment, and summoned all of his skills in diplomacy. “It’s fine. I did offer. Obviously I didn’t expect you to actually take me up on it…” He brought his smirk back with as much gusto as he could muster. “But as long as I get your leftovers next time-”

Before he could even finish the thought, Ladybug gave him a shove, causing him to fall over onto the bench laughing. She looked away from him with a “Hmph!” but he could feel her mood shift, embarrassment almost forgotten.

His laughter eventually faded, and they settled into a comfortable silence. Ladybug looked out at the lights of the city, and Cat Noir found himself, still laying on the bench, simply looking at her and finding himself somehow, inexplicably, falling in love with her all over again. Thinking of her embarrassed eyes, however, Cat Noir found himself speaking before his thoughts finished forming.

“Hey Ladybug?”

“Hm?”

“I just want you to know. Because I don’t know what your civilian life is like, so I don’t know how much support, or, uh, lack of support, you might have? And obviously people will find it hard to understand, because no one else does what we do, and they wouldn’t know what it’s been like, and so when it changes, it’s even harder-”

“Cat Noir.” She gave him a deadpan stare. He shrugged sheepishly at her. But she rolled her eyes, then mimed taking a deep breath in, and then letting it out, and then waited for him to follow her example before motioning him to continue.

“I think you probably know this, but I want to say it out loud anyway. You can come to me about these weird side effects from our Miraculous. I can be an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on. I’m just a call away.” He grabbed his baton from his belt and put it to his ear to emphasize his point, to which she smiled. “And I want you to take this next bit however you want to take it, but even if these cravings do cause you to gain some weight, I think you’ll look radiant no matter what. Nothing could cause the shine of how amazing you are on the inside to dull.”

At that, Ladybug’s smile deepened and the full force of her affection was thrust upon him. He felt a deep blush coming on, and he felt his mouth deflect before he could stop it. “Not even some curves!” He felt his blush deepen further and his smile turn sideways as the truth of how much her new curves were affecting him came crashing down upon him.

Thankfully, that just caused Ladybug to snort and laugh at him. “Now you sound like some of my aunties! They’re always telling me I’m too skinny for my age.”

“Well, maybe they have the right idea!”

“Maybe they do. My mom would never say that about me, but I know I’ve heard her say that about you!”

At this, Cat Noir couldn’t help but fully sitting up and giving her a confused stare. “Huh?”

“Whenever we’re on TV, I hear my mom say things like, ‘Oh that Cat Noir, he’s too skinny! Isn’t anyone feeding that boy?’ At least maybe she won’t be able to complain anymore!”

“Huh?”

Despite his continued confounded expression, Ladybug finally stood up and stretched a bit. “You were too skinny. These cravings are finally causing you to put some meat on those bones.” She patted his head, which he shook out and gave her a piercing stare.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. And I can’t have my kitty be malnourished.” She gave him a scratch behind his cat ear, before moving to grab her yo-yo.

“Anyway, I gotta go before it gets too too late. Have a good night Cat Noir. Bug out!”

And with that, she launched into the air, and Cat Noir had to focus very hard to not stare at how much rounder her backside had begun to seem.

~~~

As Ladybug flung through the air on her way back to the bakery, thoughts of the leftover eclairs from her parents’ bakery dancing in the back of her head, she tried to not think too hard about how much she had meant what she said.

Cat Noir did look better with more meat on his bones.


	2. New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien do their best to adjust to their new normal. Ladybug and Cat Noir set some diet goals for each other. Marinette has a surprising conversation.

The next week passed quickly for Marinette as she settled into her holiday schedule of relaxing, helping her parents’ in the bakery, and working on various projects. She was incredibly thankful that her break hadn’t been interrupted by an akuma attack yet (knock on wood!) but she did find herself looking for an excuse to talk to Cat Noir. Partially because Alya was out of town with her family for summer vacation and so she was down a best friend, but also because she was not handling her cravings very well.

She had tried removing all sweets from her bedroom, but then she would find excuses to help down in the bakery. She tried to avoid all sweets during the morning but then she felt so hungry by the evening that she actually binged on a whole (small!) cake that night. Then she tried having just a little bit of sugar in the morning and trying to avoid sweets in the evening, but she found she literally couldn’t sleep until she had a stomach full of doughnuts. And even then she woke up the next morning and was still craving cinnamon rolls.

A week after her talk with Tikki, Marinette woke up feeling… bloated. She opened her eyes and realized she had crumbs on her shirt and her hand in an empty pie tin that she did not remember bringing with her to bed. As she sat up, she noticed that the waistband of her sleep pants felt decidedly tight. She struggled with the knot on the drawstring for a moment, before finally untying it, and letting her belly relax with a sigh.

“Okay.” Marinette said. “This is getting out of hand.”

“Actually you woke up with your hand in the pie tin.” Tikki flitted up and responded, before grinning at the withering look Marinette turned upon her.

Marinette proceeded to get out of bed and clean herself up before heading down to the bathroom and once again getting out the scale. She remembered what she had read, about weighing yourself in the morning before you’ve eaten anything to get the most accurate measurement. She hoped the pie she barely remembered eating wouldn’t throw it off too much.

Stepping on the scale, it took a moment to calculate before quickly flashing 142.

Marinette blinked. Maybe she did hope the pie was throwing it off.

“I’ve gained six more pounds… that’s almost a pound a day.”

“You have been eating a lot more than you usually do. It’s not that much of a surprise.” Tikki consoled her, landing on her shoulder.

“I guess. But if my pajamas were that tight, I don’t even want to think about how tight my pants are going to be.” Marinette pouted. Before she could go back up to her room however, her stomach began to rumble.

Marinette grumbled right back, “Ugh, how can I still be hungry? Especially if I had a whole pie last night in bed!” But it was a fight she was in no mood to win, and so she made her way to the kitchen to grab breakfast.

She grabbed two fresh buttery croissants before thinking better of it and grabbing a third. Then she grabbed some extra sugary jam and some chocolate milk from the fridge before plopping herself down on the couch in the living room, turning on the TV to some cartoons, and proceeded to season her spoonfuls of jam with croissants.

She was halfway through her second croissant and realizing she would either need more than three or she would need to grab something else when her phone began to buzz. She looked and realized that Alya was video calling her! Excited to hear from her best friend, she opened the app and went to accept the call, but her reflection in the video preview made her pause. Quickly she grabbed a napkin and wiped away her chocolate milk mustache and the jam she had unknowingly gotten on her face, and hoped that her face didn’t look noticeably fuller over the video.

She pressed the accept call button and said, “Hey Alya!”

“Hey girl!” Alya waved at her from what was clearly a hotel room. “Did you just wake up?”

Marinette replied with a yawn, “Well not JUST. I’ve been up for like half an hour.”

“Girl, isn’t it after noon back in Paris?”

“I’ll have you know that it’s just after 11:30, thank you very much!”

Alya chuckled. “Okay, it is vacation, so I guess that’s fair. How are things on the home front?”

“Things are alright. No akuma attacks since you left, so thankfully the Ladyblog hasn’t fallen behind at all.”

“That’s a relief, in more ways than one.” Alya winked. “Before you ask, my vacation has been going great. We have a lot of family here on Martinique, and it’s not often that all of us get together so it’s been like one big party!”

“That’s great, Alya! Almost makes it worth it for how much I’ve been missing you.” Marinette gave her a cheeky smile.

With another wink, this time even more exaggerated, Alya said, “That’s sweet of you, but what I really want to hear is how you’ve been progressing with operation ‘last two peas in the pod’. Have you and Adrien been hanging out every day like you promised you would be.”

Suddenly deeply flushed, Marinette mumbled, “well…”

She had intended to text Adrien earlier in the week to ask if he wanted to hang out over break. Since Alya and Nino were both out of town, it was only natural to assume that the two of them could reach out to each other. But when things had gotten weird with her cravings, it had slipped her mind. And now that she was apparently gaining almost a pound a day…

“It uh. I just- just haven’t figured out the right activity to do with him before I ask is all!”

Shaking her head with a knowing smile, Alya said, “Marinette, you are so lucky I love you as much as I do, I swear. Just ask him to like, play video games or something! That’s what you two do when all four of us hang out anyway!”

It was true, and Marinette knew it. Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien would hang out together, and Marinette and Adrien would often be the last two standing in their impromptu Mecha Strike tournaments. She had even preordered the newest one, Mecha Strike VI: Robot Revengeance, with the idea that she and Adrien could play it for the first time together.

But if she was going to ask Adrien to hang out with her, she was going to have to lose some weight, and…

“Before I ask him to hang out I need to buy some new clothes!” Marinette exclaimed.

“Really girl? Don’t you have something new in your closet? You’re always working on something.”

“Yeah but…” That was true, but Marinette wasn’t sure anything would fit anymore. “But Adrien’s already seen my own designs! It needs to be something new and different that he won’t expect.”

“I get what you’re saying, I suppose, but this is Adrien we’re talking about here. He wouldn’t judge like that.”

“I know, but I just want to impress him, at least a little bit!” And not rip a seam on her pants around him if possible.

“Alright but I’m holding you to it! You go shopping today and you are showing me what you picked out before I have to go to sleep in 6 hours! And then you’re going to text Adrien right then and there!”

“Alya, that’s gonna be after midnight where you are!”

Alya gave her a sly look. “So if you want me to get to bed on time, you’re going to have to hurry, aren’t you?”

Marinette gave her her most exaggerated pout. “Weaponizing my own sense of friendship duty against me? How could you?”

“Same way I do every day!” At that, they both laughed.

After going over which stores Marinette was planning to go to, they ended their call. Marinette had to hand it to Alya, she did know how to pump her up. She finished her croissants quickly, and then grabbed two more on her way back up to her room.

With croissant in mouth, she did her best to wash up and get dressed to go out. Despite how tight the shorts she picked out were, they buttoned up just fine. If she didn’t get her eating under control, that wouldn’t be true for long however. She finished the second croissant, her fifth this morning, and decided that maybe she would also stop by the fabric store, just in case she needed to upscale any of her clothing.

Sitting down to put on her shoes, she felt her stuffed tummy fully press up against her shorts waistband. Rubbing her distended midsection, Marinette groaned at how full she felt. She had been so hungry just a bit ago, but now she felt the full weight of all of the bread in her stomach. Maybe she would pick up some elastic at the fabric store.

But once she had made it all the way down the stairs, she couldn’t bring herself to head to the metro without stopping in the bakery for a powdered donut. She rushed out the door before her parents could stop her, which meant she missed the look of concern they sent in her direction and then turned on each other when she was gone.

Sitting on the metro train with her donut, she didn’t understand how she could feel so stuffed, yet so hungry at the same time. It wasn’t even really an unpleasant feeling, either. Sure, there was some discomfort to being so full, but it was also kinda nice in a way. Full, in more ways than one. And the food did taste so good! It was like all of the sugary treats she had were a thousand times sweeter, but never overpowering. Chewing on the donut, she couldn’t help the sigh of pleasure that escaped her. It just felt so nice!

Sure she felt stuffed to the gills when she reached her stop yet again, but that didn’t stop her from getting a cookie and a sugar and whipped cream drenched coffee after the first leg of her shopping trip.

~~~

Adrien’s week was going great! It felt like the first real vacation he had had in forever, and he was using it to the fullest extent. Laying in bed or on his couch, playing video games, scrolling aimlessly through his phone, and generally being lazy all day long. And there hadn’t even been any akumas to interrupt him!

There was one problem, however. And that problem made itself quite known as he, a week after having ice cream with Ladybug, stepped on the scale and read 170 lbs. He should have been surprised that his lazing about and eating whatever his heart- and stomach- desired had caused him to gain nearly a pound a day, but it really didn’t.

Adrien placed his hand on his stomach, and gave it a full jiggle. It definitely didn’t used to do that. But even as he looked into the mirror, he couldn’t help but hear Ladybug’s words in the back of his head, that he looked better with ‘meat on his bones’. Maybe she was right, and he was just filling out.

“Geez, you didn’t slow down at all, huh?” Plagg hovered over his shoulder like a little cartoon devil, conspicuously missing his angel counterpart.

“Plagg! Couldn’t you be a little more supportive?”

“Eh, not really. You deserve to loosen your belt a little, both figuratively and literally. And so do I!”

“But what about Ladybug? We’re supposed to be keeping our weights in check.”

“Yeah well, Ladybug could stand to loosen up too once in a while! I think you deserve as many milkshakes as you want.”

“Milkshakes…” Adrien’s eyes flashed for a moment, and then his stomach grumbled in protest. “No, no, I shouldn’t have anything more today. Yesterday I was terrible, but today I can rein myself in.” He walked out of the bathroom and began dressing himself for the day.

“Adrien, come on. I’m telling you, you deserve this! You’re going to have to go back to fencing and basketball and whatever other olympian sports your father wants you to compete in once the summer is over. But summer is now, and now you should have pizza.”

“Oh, pizza…” Again, Adrien’s expression seemed to glaze over for a moment, before he rallied again. “No! Plagg! Stop tempting me.”

Plagg’s grin became truly devilish.

“Not into milkshakes and pizza today? How about some frozen yogurt? Maybe some cheeseburgers?”

“Plagg!”

“Oooh, or maybe we just go full charcuterie and get a cheese platter with some crackers.”

“Plagg, I’m serious!”

“Or maybe we can get some cheese bread or cheese danishes from Pigtails’ family’s bakery.”

“Ugh, I really don’t want to bother Marinette when I’m being all weird like this.” Adrien attempted to cover his ears, but Plagg just started speaking louder.

“I would argue that now is the perfect time to bother her, but I see your point, you shouldn’t head out on an empty stomach. Let’s just go down to the kitchen and get some milk. Full cream, just between us.”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Adrien’s stomach was practically cramping from how hungry he was, and the only thing he could think about was how good all of the options Plagg had put forward sounded. He quickly grabbed his phone, and began a delivery order to have everything he couldn’t get from the kitchen’s delivered.

“Oh, and some camembert! I bet you’d also really like some camembert!”

Adrien growled, “Oh no, you started this, and I’m going to end it. I’m going to enjoy all of this nice cheese, and none of it is for you!”

“What?! Noooo!”

To Adrien’s chagrin, he kept his word. He ate every last morsel, even if he did have to unbutton his jeans after he finished the whole cheese platter. And he had to take a catnap before he tackled the gallon of whole milk he’d impulsively brought up from the kitchen to his mini fridge. In the end, his stomach was distended, and he could feel it slosh around whenever he moved.

It was fine, he told himself. Eventually fencing would start back up and between that and patrols and everything else he had to do, he would be able to lose any weight he gained. He didn’t need to regret indulging himself, for now.

But what did trouble him was how much he didn’t regret it. How much he was learning to enjoy the feeling of being absolutely full of things that made his mouth feel just euphoric. The sloshing of his belly was almost fun, in a way. And the feeling of downing all of that milk all at once, besides giving him a sense of accomplishment, finally sated his taste buds, which finally stopped clamoring for more, leaving him fully satisfied.

He was riding that high when he made the decision to pop his head out of his door, and quickly ask his bodyguard if he could stop by the Dupain-Cheng bakery this coming week.

~~~

When Cat Noir landed on the Eiffel tower the next day for patrol, he was welcomed by a pacing and clearly agitated Ladybug.

Before he could even greet her, she blurted, “So I’ve been doing some research.”

Quirking his eyebrow, he replied, “On what, milady?”

“On dieting and losing weight.”

Both eyebrows now raised, he motioned for her to continue.

“I know we said we would try to keep our cravings in check, at least to a degree. And we are using patrol for exercise purposes. But I don’t know about you, but it’s been really hard to not eat every sugary thing that finds its way into my hands. I gained six more pounds last week, though my measurement might have been skewed by me eating before bed. I’m just, uhm, freaking out a little bit?”

At the look in his lady’s eyes, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, me too. It doesn’t help that Plagg teases me until I get hungry enough to order whatever he suggests.” He carefully didn’t mention that he was up more weight than she was.

“I’m sorry, kitty. At least Tikki is relatively supportive, though even she mostly seems to think it’s fine. I guess that’s what you get from a god who eats cookies for almost every meal.” She gave him a small grin, and he returned it.

“What did you find out in your research?”

“So, one of the suggestions I found for weight loss is to have a partner to try to lose weight with you. I know we can’t be there for each other all the time, but I was hoping we could, like, set diet goals together? Maybe go up the number of patrols we go on per week, at least temporarily, so we’re exercising more?”

Cat Noir hesitated. He was no stranger to dieting, being a part of the fashion world as he was. In the past he had even been put on a very restrictive diet, even if it was for a short time, so he could be in a TV commercial. It wasn’t a fun experience. He had told his father he wasn’t interested in doing commercials if he was going to have to do something like that again, and thankfully he had been mostly spared that since then. And the horror stories he heard from other models…

Ladybug picked up on his hesitation immediately. “I promise we won’t go all ‘runway model only a slice of lettuce at each meal’! I want to keep it positive, not negative.”

At that, Cat Noir let some of the tension in his shoulders leak away. “Thank you my lady. It’s just, I had a bad experience with dieting once, a while ago. It’s not something I’d really want to repeat.”

“I totally understand that. But I promise we will keep it positive. And I really need your help, honestly. My best friend in my civilian life is on vacation for summer break and she’s not getting back for a couple of weeks! You’re the only one I can turn to.” She gave him her best puppy dog eyes. He was almost angry at how effective they were, considering he was a cat.

“Oh, alright, my lady. This cat can cut back on the cream, for you.” He gave her another wink and she groaned at his joke.

They proceeded to hash out the details as they ran around Paris. They would restrict what foods they could eat and report back to each other each week to keep themselves honest. If they couldn’t keep themselves in check, maybe the threat of failing the other would be a better motivator, Ladybug argued. In addition, they would each go on a solo patrol each week, just to burn some extra calories.

Running and jumping across Paris, they worked up a decent sweat, and even took some time to stop at the Arc de Triomphe to take some pictures with some tourists. A news crew tried to catch them while they were at it, but thankfully they were able to extricate themselves from the crowd before the tabloids could get an interview out of them. They even got cookies and cream ice cream again, though this time just from a normal ice cream parlor as they hadn’t spotted André on patrol. It helped both of them to sate their cravings, so it was deemed necessary, even as they both got large sizes.

Stopping back at the base of the Eiffel tower about an hour later, they were once again breathing heavily, having worked their magical suits almost to the limit of their ability. Before Cat Noir could say good night and head home, however, Ladybug stopped him.

“I just wanted to say one more thing.” Ladybug paused for a moment, looking him right in the eyes. He tried to gulp as quietly as possible, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

“What is it my lady?”

“Thank you for helping me with the whole dieting thing. And I’m sorry if I came on too strong earlier. I’m more worried about myself. I meant what I said last time. You do look better now that you’ve filled out a bit. You were too skinny.” She gave him a smile and wink.

He was able to stammer out, “Th-Thank you, milady,” before she said her goodbyes and headed home.

Now he was worried. He wasn’t sure he would be able to help much with his own dieting, if she kept giving him compliments like that.

~~~

Marinette’s stomach was throwing a temper tantrum. It wanted her to know that she was ravenously hungry and she would not be going to sleep until she ate something, preferably a lot of something. This was despite the fact that she had snuck back down to the bakery twice already to get small snacks to appease her rioting digestive system.

She had been trying, really really hard, to keep up with the diet goals she had set up with Cat Noir. She hadn’t texted Adrien when she’d shown Alya her new clothes specifically because she wanted to lose the weight before they hung out, hoping that would be another dangling incentive to keep to her diet. But it was so hard when she couldn’t even sleep without the taste of sugar on her tongue and the feeling of a full belly.

Finally relenting, she got up once again, careful not to wake Tikki. She tiptoed down the stairs, and went to make a beeline for the fridge, where she knew a cake her father had baked earlier that day was just waiting for her. But before she could even get through the kitchen, the lights flickered on.

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng, in their pajamas, were seated at the table.

Externally, Marinette simply froze.

Internally, Marinette began freaking out. Her parents knew she was sneaking down here to get food. Either they were going to assume she was sneaking it for herself, which was true, and would get her in trouble, or worse, they were going to think she was sneaking it for someone else, and they were going to find out about Tikki, and then they would find out she was Ladybug, and then they would be in huge danger! Either way, this was a disaster!

But before her mouth could catch up with her brain and find a proper excuse, her father said, “Honey, we think we need to talk.”

Still a deer caught in the headlight, Marinette responded, “Uhm. What do we need to talk about?” She began to shrink in on herself, crossing her arms and looking away.

“You’ve been sneaking food.” Her mother put in softly. “Both from the bakery while you’re taking shifts, and from the kitchen when you think we aren’t looking.”

Marinette couldn’t find a way out of that accusation, so she just shrugged.

“Marinette…” her father almost whispered, and Marinette prepared herself for the judgement that was to come.

“Are we not feeding you enough?”

Marinette blinked. What was that?

“Honey, we know we’ve always had certain restrictions about what you can and can’t eat around the house. It’s important for bakers to have rules about that kind of thing. And for the most part, you’ve followed those rules to the letter. You’ve snuck some macaroons now and then, but for the most part you’ve asked or baked your own. And we were- are very proud of you for that.” Her father was giving her a look that she had at first read as stern, but now she found it laced with concern.

“I- I don’t…” Marinette wasn’t sure where this was going, so she had no idea how to respond.

“But in the past few weeks we’ve noticed you’ve been sneaking a lot more food. And we know you wouldn’t do so without a good reason. Have we been too strict with you? Do you think you have to sneak food to get enough to eat? We didn’t intend for our rules to, to, give our little girl a complex or anything.” Her mother was definitely worried about her. Not mad, worried.

“I, uhm. I’ve just been extra hungry recently. I don’t know.” Marinette was puzzled now. She shrugged her shoulders again, but she finally moved from the point where she had stopped and sat down at the table with her parents.

“Honey, we’re so sorry.” Her father’s brow creased with worry, and he stroked his mustache. “You may still be in school, but you’re almost an adult now. And we know you’re mature enough to make decisions for yourself. If you need an extra portion, you can just tell us.”

“And even if you are an adult, you’re still technically a growing girl. Your father didn’t reach his full height until he was 19.” Her father nodded at his wife. “You could be going through a growth spurt, and we’ve been restricting your food intake. The last thing we want is to restrict your growth in any way.”

At this point her father got up, quickly went to the fridge, and grabbed the cake she had been thinking of. Even the sight of it, with its fluffy white frosting and exposed chocolatey insides, flecked with pieces of strawberry, made her mouth water. She gulped audibly, hoping her parents wouldn’t notice.

But as her father spoke, his voice was only filled with pride and joy. “From now onwards, we are lifting all restrictions on what you can eat from the bakery. And we’ll make more at dinner, if that’s what you want, so you can have seconds or even thirds. We are doing well enough that we can all take whatever we want from the bakery every day, and we’ll be fine. And that’s because of you! Because you got us a TV spot with Jagged Stone, and because you got our creations in front of people like that big director from the Ladybug and Cat Noir movie. You deserve it most of all!” He began to cut the cake, plating a piece for each of them. Marinette tried not to show too much enthusiasm as she dug into her piece.

Her mother nodded in agreement. “What’s important, at the end of the day, is that you’re happy. Like I said before, we don’t want to restrict you, either in your diet, or in your growth as a designer, or in anything. You know you can talk to us about anything. You didn’t have to hide that you were feeling so hungry all the time. We would have understood.” 

Marinette gave her mother what she hoped was a contrite look. “I know mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide anything, I just… didn’t know what you would think.” She didn’t dare say anymore, because she was getting dangerously close to giving away her secret identity. Her parents would understand anything normal, and maybe even a lot of things that were abnormal, but if they found out that her increased appetite was a side effect from being Ladybug, it might put them in danger.

Marinette didn’t like lying to her parents, but she was unfortunately used to it. “Thank you so much for understanding. I’ve just been ravenous, and I don’t know why, and it feels like I’m picking up some bad eating habits because of it. I was trying to diet a little bit to lose weight, but it’s just not working.”

“Dear, you don’t need to restrict yourself like that.” Her father spoke with concern at first, but then he was filled with amusement. “First things first, you need to know that you don’t need to listen to anyone who tells you you need to lose weight. You’ll look great no matter what. Even if you get to be my size!”

At that, Marinette giggled, but her father continued, wagging his finger at her. “I’m serious! I know you wouldn’t dare say your old man doesn’t look amazing for his age.” At Marinette’s shaking head, he went on, “I’ll have you know that I’ve been a bit of a big guy my whole life. And I’ve never had any health problems related to anything like that. Same with your grandfather. Us Dupains are a hearty lot, and that includes you!”

Her mother piped up, “And you met your Great Uncle Cheng. You have a number of full figured relatives back in China. You know how your aunties go on. And none of them have any problems that I know about. So you definitely shouldn’t be worried about your weight for any of those reasons.”

“And your mother may have a metabolism that has defeated even me, but they say even if you can’t trust a baker with a fat wife, you could trust a baker with a fat daughter!” All three of them laughed, and despite the crassness of the joke, Marinette found herself feeling better. Now she knew that even if she did gain weight because of her cravings, her parents wouldn’t just be fine with it, they would almost encourage her. She once again felt so thankful that she had the best parents in the world.

“And if you’re worried about boys,” Sabine drawled at her daughter, “I’ll have you know that Adrien came in earlier today.”

At this Marinette spluttered, dropping her fork back on her plate. She heard her father whisper, “Or if you’re worried about girls, of course.”

Sabine nodded, then continued, “He didn’t say if he was looking for you or not, but he did ask about how you were doing and I did tell him you were out. But, and I don’t want to be a gossip here, but, based on how many cheese danishes he ordered, I’d say he wouldn’t mind no matter how much you wanted to eat.”

“You should have seen him honey, it’s like someone finally allowed that boy to eat!” Her father was almost giddy as he shared this news.

“Really? I guess Adrien’s activities have taken a break for the summer.” Marinette may have taken down his schedule from her calendar a while ago, but she at least knew that much.

“Finally some meat on his bones!” her mother practically exclaimed. “With him and then Cat Noir, it’s looking like a good summer for skinny boys.” The cheeky grin her mother gave her made Marinette laugh yet again. “I saw the superheroes on the news the other day, and even Ladybug is looking a little fuller figured. Maybe you should imitate her.” Marinette had to laugh at that.

After pressing her parents for more details about Adrien’s visit (he had come in during the afternoon lull, when she had gone on her solo patrol; he had ordered five cheese danishes, and while he had claimed that the other four were for staff back at his house, her mother had seen him eat at least three of them; he had come up to the counter a second time to ask after her and how she was doing, and yes, he did seem disappointed that she was out; while he was at the counter a second time he ordered three cheese breads which he claimed were for his father, but her father had seen him eating one of them on his way out; both of her parents claimed he was simply filling out, but a bit of pressing led her to believe that, surprisingly, Adrien might be plumping up slightly, which she did not understand), her parents finally said it was time for bed. 

Assuring her once again that they loved her, that she could eat whatever she wanted, and that those things would be true no matter what she weighed, her parents even sent her to bed with the rest of the cake, telling her simply to put back what she didn’t finish.

That, she reflected as she finished the entire cake, had gone surprisingly well. Maybe she would even actually text Adrien, like she had promised Alya. She slept quite soundly that night, her stomach and her conscience at ease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that was enough to sate you for now! Big thanks to everyone who interacted with the story, either with kudos or comments, I really appreciate it. Knowing I have someone actually liking what I'm doing fills my brain with serotonin, and it certainly helped me finish this chapter much faster than I was expecting. Keep it coming!
> 
> With that said, I do not plan on sticking to any particular posting schedule. Updates will come as they get written, which can either take a short time or very long, depending on if I get stuck on anything.
> 
> NEXT TIME: Our first akuma battle! And then Adrien has a friend reach out to him!


End file.
